


Uni Struggles and Amputees

by thegreatgayjatsby



Category: Attack on Titan, Shingeki no Kyojin
Genre: (Which I actually haven't read), Cuties, Fluff, Great Gastby, Hella fluffy, Jean is a damn dork, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-02-21
Updated: 2014-02-21
Packaged: 2018-01-13 06:50:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 1,283
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1216684
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thegreatgayjatsby/pseuds/thegreatgayjatsby
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Jean finds a phone number in his library book and calls it.<br/>It's a beautiful young man named Marco.<br/>They meet to discuss the Great Gatsby.<br/>They end up going to get coffee.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Honest to God, the thing Jean hated most was reading for uni. He didn’t mind reading casually or for self-interest, although his genre preference mostly extended to horses and video games. He just really didn’t appreciate being told what to read.

So of course he would take any way to distract himself from the task at hand. He was currently reading the Great Gatsby for his English class, and he hadn’t even gotten past the first ten pages. 

Sprawling out across his twin sized bed in his shared apartment, he sighed and cracked open the book again, thumbing absentmindedly through the pages. A slip of paper fluttered out and wafted through the air, gently hitting him on the bridge of the nose.

Jean sighed again, plucking the piece of paper off his face and scanning the numbers scrawled neatly across it. It was simply a phone number. His eyes darted to the bed beside him, wear his cell was sitting, screen dark.

With a devilish grin, he picked it up and dialed in the digits without hesitation, looking for entertainment. It began to ring as Jean closed the book and set it beside, humming a little while listening to the dial tone.

The phone clicked, and it took a few seconds before a cautious, light, and definitively male voice asked, “Hello?”

“Hey.” Jean responded casually, picking at his fingernails.

“Um.” Said the voice on the other end, clearly confused.

“Your phone number was in a book.” Jean added quickly, wanting to stay amused.

“O-Oh. What book?” The mystery responder asked shyly.

“Great Gatsby.” Jean admitted quietly, somewhat feeling mocked.

“Oh! Yeah, I got a new phone and wrote my number down. I think I was using that as a bookmark.” The other’s tone was a little embarrassed, and Jean smiled.

“When’d you read it?” He asked, taking a minute to settle differently on the bed.

“Last week. How far along are you?” The other male seemed to be more interested now, relaxing into the conversation.

“Like, four pages. I’m Jean, by the way.” Jean introduced, shrugging one shoulder.

“Oh. Okay, no spoilers, sorry.” A giggle was evident in his tone, and he sounded pleased with himself. “And I’m Marco.”

Marco. The name sounded familiar, but Jean shrugged that thought off and smirked into the phone. “I’m doing it for a uni class, you like it?”

“Yeah, I mean, it was okay. Not too great. I prefer mythology.” Maco said casually, humming a tiny bit.

“Huh. You know the story good though, right?” Jean pressed, starting to form an idea in his mind.

“Pretty good, I’d say.” The other replied, his voice a little clearer than before.

“Do you wanna meet up and tell me about it?” Jean asked, grinning a little. 

“Oh. Uhm.” Marco stammered a little. “H-How old are you?”

Jean’s grin brightened. “Eighteen. You?”

“Eighteen.” Marco replied breathily. “Do you want to meet at the library?”

“East Branch, right?” Jean asked, already getting up and grabbing his keys.

“Yeah, how about we meet there in half an hour? I live across town. Bring the book copy?” Marco’s voice was muffled as if he was struggling with something, and had set the phone down.

Jean nodded, then said, “Yeah, that’d be awesome. Thanks, Marco.” 

“Any time!” Marco replied enthusiastically, his smile practically audible. “I’ll see you then!”

“Alright, sweet.” Jean shouldered into his jacket and locked the door to his rented one-story house.

“Okay, bye!” Marco said chipperly, hanging up before Jean had a chance to respond.

Jean grinned to himself as he slid into the driver’s seat of his old pick up and started the engine.


	2. Chapter 2

By the time he arrived at the library, his nerves had risen slightly. It took Jean a good few minutes in front of his rear-view mirror primping before he could even gather himself and get out of the car. As he was walking down the sidewalk around the building, a car pulled into the handicapped parking space.

He continued on, lost in his thoughts, clutching the Great Gatsby in his hands and heading inside. Jean sat at a table in the adult fiction section off to the right of the lobby, the book on the wooden surface before him. 

He leaned back casually in the chair and sighed slowly, trying to keep his gaze off from the door. A few moments later, a young man with dark hair and a smattering of freckles on his face and neck walked into the library.

The man glanced around before his eyes settled on the book on Jean’s table. He grinned and approached, and Jean nearly fell out of the chair in his haste to stand. “Hey, Marco?”

“Yeah, hi, Jean.” Marco greeted enthusiastically, sticking one hand out to shake.

Jean’s breath caught for a second, and he couldn’t help but stare as he extended his own hand to clasp the offered one. Marco’s right arm stopped just over his elbow, and the sleeve of his tee-shirt rode up to reveal a heavily scarred stump.

“Pretty, isn’t it?” Marco asked a little shyly as he gave Jean’s hand a gentle shake.

“Uh, hell, sorry. I didn’t mean to stare.” Jean muttered, sliding back into his chair.

Marco laughed softly and sat himself in the chair across the table. “It’s nothing, I get a lot worse than just looks. Besides, it’s good you’re curious.”

Jean smiled a little, eyes lingering on the taller man’s face. Marco was pretty damn gorgeous, lost arm aside. His right eye, however, was bleary and unfocused-not unlike that of a taxidermied creature. The injury that afflicted his arm must run all the way up the right side of his body.

Marco blinked and Jean’s gaze snapped back to the other half of his face. “I’m legally blind in that eye.” Marco said quietly, still appearing to be shy.

Like a damn forest spirit, Jean thought in amusement to himself. “That’s fine. Do you mind if I ask what happened?” 

He immediately regretted asking at the look Marco gave him, reluctant and a little pained. “I mean, shit, you don’t have to, or whatever!” He quickly added, a little louder than he intended.

“Is this man bothering you, Mr. Bodt?” A blond-haired, blue-eyed woman asked coldly as she loomed over their table, having appeared from within the bookshelves.

“No, Miss Leonhardt, he’s fine, thank you.” Marco smiled brightly and waved her off, reaching forward with his hand and picking up Gatsby.

The librarian narrowed her eyes at Jean and made an ‘I’m watching you’ movement with her fingers before wandering off. Jean focused again on Marco, a little unnerved. “You come here often?”

Marco’s lips pulled up a little into a smirk. “Yeah, I practically live here. I volunteer every summer.” He explained as he cracked the book open and looked up. “What do you need to know?”

Jean grinned a little and tilted his head to the side. “What should I know?”

Marco’s smirk brightened and he leaned forward, steepling his fingers and looking positively mischievous. “My dear Jean, let me educate you about the Great Gatsby.”


	3. Chapter 3

“So, do you want to get coffee or something?” Jean asked, gathering the notes he’d taken on the plot points Marco had discussed.

“Sure. I mean, I’m not much of a coffee-drinker myself, but I do like tea.” The freckle-spattered young man replied brightly, standing and stretching.

Jean grinned and tilted his head a little, getting to his feet as well and looking immensely pleased with himself. Marco stepped closer, looking at Jean uncertainly, then slipped his hand into Jean’s and entwined their fingers.

Jean’s grin brightened, squeezing his hand and leading him out of the library.


End file.
